NOTICES
Relief Plan for the 717 NPA
[33 Pa.B. 4139] Public Meeting held
July 17, 2003Commissioners Present: Terrance J. Fitzpatrick, Chairperson; Robert K. Bloom, Vice Chairperson; Aaron Wilson, Jr.; Glen R. Thomas; Kim Pizzingrilli
Relief Plan for the 717 NPA; P-00961071F0003
Final Order By the Commission:
Before the Commission is a petition that was filed on behalf of the Pennsylvania telecommunications industry on May 29, 2001, for approval of a relief plan to implement all services distributed overlay in the 717 area code. By this Order, we are dismissing the petition.
Background
History of the 717 NPA
On June 28, 1996, the telecommunications industry asked the Commission to decide how to relieve the shortage of numbering resources in the 717 Number Plan Area (NPA or area code) as the industry could not reach a consensus. Accordingly, the Commission opened a docket at P-00961071 that ultimately led to the creation of the 570 NPA on May 21, 1998. The 570 NPA was a geographic split1 of the 717 NPA and was activated on April 8, 1999. The 717 NPA presently includes all or part of the following counties: Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Dauphin, Lebanon, Berks, Fulton, Franklin, Cumberland, Adams, York and Lancaster.
In May 2000, the industry was advised by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA)2 that relief planning for the 717 NPA was necessary in light of the fact that the area code was expected to exhaust by the second quarter of 2001. The unavailability of NXX codes3 in an area code for assignment to telecommunications carriers leads to the exhaust of the area code. Relief planning was necessary under the INC Guidelines,4 which provide that when the projected exhaust date of an area code is to occur within 36 months, the NANPA is required to prepare relief options and to conduct an industry meeting with the goal of reaching industry consensus regarding the form of relief for the NPA.
On February 20, 2001, the NANPA notified the industry that a meeting was necessary to discuss relief alternatives for the 717 NPA. A meeting was convened on April 18, 2001. After discussion of several alternatives, the industry reached a consensus to adopt an all services distributed overlay5 as the form of relief for the 717 NPA. By that time, the projected exhaust date for the 717 NPA was pushed back to the fourth quarter 2003 but was still within the 3-year time-period required by the INC Guidelines.
On May 29, 2001, Neustar, as the neutral third party NPA Relief Planner for Pennsylvania, acting on behalf of the Pennsylvania telecommunications industry, filed a petition with the Commission requesting approval of its relief plan to implement an overlay for the geographic area covered by 717.
On September 5, 2001, the Commission entered an Order at the previously captioned docket seeking comments from interested parties regarding what type of relief should be implemented in the 717 NPA and when this relief should be implemented. In response, the Pennsylvania Telephone Association, Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. and Verizon North, Inc., the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) and the Office of Small Business Advocate filed timely comments with the Commission. The OCA filed timely reply comments.
While the industry relief plan has been pending before the Commission, Pennsylvania's NPAs, including 717, have experienced an unprecedented, efficient use of number resources due to the implementation of 1,000-block number pooling6 and other number conservation measures such as NXX code reclamation.7 The Commission implemented NXX code reclamation in the 717 NPA in August 2000, while we implemented mandatory 1,000-block pooling in the 717 NPA in March 2002.8 Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated that all wireless carriers participate in pooling as of November 24, 2002.9 Presently, wireless carriers have implemented pooling and are participating in Pennsylvania's mandatory pools, including the pool in 717.
Projected Exhaust Date for the 717 NPA
Under the INC Guidelines, the NANPA is charged with the responsibility of predicting the expected exhaust period for an NPA by analyzing the historical growth data available for the NPA as well as any expected changes to the NXX demands in the future.10 As previously stated, once the NANPA projects the exhaust date for the an NPA to occur within 36 months, the INC Guidelines require it to prepare relief options and to conduct industry meetings with the goal of reaching industry consensus regarding the form of relief for the NPA. In May 2003, the NANPA revised the projected exhaust date for the 717 NPA to the fourth quarter of 2007, more than 4 years away.
Discussion
As previously mentioned, the 717 NPA has experienced an unprecedented, efficient use of numbering resources due in large part to the diligent efforts of the Commission and others to implement mandatory 1,000-block pooling and NXX code reclamation. Since March 2002 when 1,000-block pooling was implemented, roughly 2 1/2 NXX codes per month on average have been assigned in the 717 area code, while since January 2003, only three NXX codes in total have been assigned to carriers in the 717 NPA. In addition, since March 2002, nearly 30 NXX codes have been returned to the NANPA for use by other carriers in the 717 NPA. Also, in May 2003, the NANPA reported that 191 NXX codes are available for assignment to carriers in 717.11 We believe that the decrease in code demands will continue in the 717 area code as 1,000-block number pooling continues and as unused NXX codes are reclaimed.
Although the projected exhaust date of the 717 area code is not within the 5-year period for withdrawal of a relief plan as specified in section 5.10 of the INC Guidelines, we believe there is good cause to dismiss the NANPA's petition for approval of its relief plan in the 717 NPA under our delegated authority over NPA relief. 47 CFR 52.19(c)(3)(ii). Based on our analysis of the current numbering resources available in 717, adequate resources exist for carriers to receive numbers in a timely fashion. We further believe that more up-to-date information on the merits of the proposed 717 relief plan is necessary in light of the fact that the consensus plan is more than 2 years old. Based on the foregoing reasons, we dismiss the industry's relief plan for the 717 NPA.
As the case with relief planning for the 717 NPA illustrates, the situation in area codes is fluid and the implementation of number conservation measures can alleviate the need to activate new area codes. The long-term effects of activating new area codes will be monumental for the telephone industry and consumers. As a threshold matter, there is only a finite amount of available area codes. When all of the states activate all of these area codes, the entire telephone network infrastructure will need to be redesigned to dramatically change local and long distance dialing patterns. Consequently, a continued emphasis needs to be placed on monitoring the specific situation in each of Pennsylvania's area codes to ensure that all available number conservation measures are implemented prior to seeking area code relief.
Accordingly, we encourage the industry, the statutory advocates and the NANPA to work together with the Commission to ensure that new area codes are not unnecessarily opened in this Commonwealth when other viable alternatives are available. To this end, we direct that future petitions for NPA relief filed with the Commission contain an analysis of both the number conservation measures for that NPA as well as specific information about the utilization of the NXX codes in that NPA; Therefore,
It Is Ordered That:
1. Neustar's petition filed with the Commission on behalf of the Pennsylvania telecommunications industry at the previous docket for approval of its relief plan for the 717 area code is dismissed.
2. In any future petition for NPA relief that is filed with the Commission, the industry must delineate in specific terms what number conservation measures have been implemented in the NPA, the success of these measures and the reasons why those or other number conservation measures will not alone lengthen the life of the area code.
3. During the relief planning stages of an NPA, the industry is to cooperate with Commission staff to provide specific and detailed information about the utilization of NXX codes in the NPA to ensure that the NXX codes already assigned in that NPA are being used as efficiently as possible.
4. A copy of this order shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
JAMES J. MCNULTY,
Secretary1 A geographic split occurs when an existing area code is divided into two or more separate geographic areas where one area retains the existing NPA and the others get new NPAs.
2 A NANPA is the entity that allocates numbering resources and monitors the viability of area codes to determine when the numbers available in the area code are nearing exhaust. The INC Guidelines provide that when an area code is nearing exhaust, the NANPA, which then becomes the NPA Relief Planner, convenes a meeting of the industry to discuss relief alternatives. NPA Code Relief Planning & Notification Guidelines, INC97-0404-016, November 13, 2000 (INC Guidelines) at § 5.5. If the industry reaches a consensus, the consensus plan is filed with the Commission. Id. at § 5.6. Under Federal rules, the Commission has ultimate authority to approve or deny a relief plan. 47 CFR 52.19. The NANPA is NeuStar, Inc.
The INC Guidelines are developed by the Industry Numbering Committee of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. The Industry Numbering Committee is a standing committee that provides an open forum to address and resolve industry-wide issues associated with the planning, administration, allocation, assignment and use of resources and related dialing considerations for public telecommunications within the North American Numbering Plan area. The guidelines and recommendations are used by the NANPA in the management of numbering resources.3 An NXX code comprises 10,000 telephone numbers in a specific area code and is identified by the second three digits in a telephone number. Traditionally, telephone numbers were assigned to carriers by NXX code. Once those 10,000 numbers of the NXX code were assigned to a carrier, they were unavailable for assignment to any other carriers.
4 INC Guidelines at §§ 5.0 and 5.5.
5 A consensus is established when substantial agreement has been reached. Substantial agreement means more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity. CLC Principles and Procedures, May 1998, at § 6.8.8. An overlay is when a new area code is introduced to serve the same geographic area as the existing area code. NPA Code Relief Planning & Notification Guidelines, INC97-0404-026, June 21, 2002, at § 6.3. With the overlay method, ten-digit local dialing is required by Federal rules. 47 CFR 52.19(c)(3)(ii).
6 Thousand-block number pooling is the process by which a 10,000 block of numbers is separated into 10 sequential blocks of 1,000 numbers and allocated separately to providers within a rate center.
7 NXX code reclamation involves the return of unused NXX codes to the NANPA. Within 6 months of receiving an NXX code, a carrier must assign at least one number to an end user or the entire NXX code must be returned to the NANPA. 47 CFR 52.15(g)(iii).
8 See Petition of Representative Keith R. McCall and Members of the Northeast Delegation of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Requesting that Additional Authority be Delegated to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to Implement Additional Number Conservation Measures, CC Docket No. 99-200 and NSD-L-01-113 (Order released December 28, 2001). By order entered on August 9, 2001, at Docket No. M-00001427, the Commission, with the consensus of the industry, ordered the implementation of a voluntary pool in 717, which subsequently became mandatory at the direction of the FCC in the McCall Order.
9 In the Matter of Verizon Wireless' Petition For Partial Forbearance From the Commercial Mobile Radio Services Number Portability Obligation and Telephone Number Portability, WT Docket 01-84, CC Docket No. 95-116 (Order adopted July 16, 2002).
10 INC Guidelines at § 5.1.
11 See the May 2003 Code Assignment Activity Report available on NANPA's website at http://www.nanpa.com.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 03-1617. Filed for public inspection August 15, 2003, 9:00 a.m.]
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